Love's Own Bounty
by Era Yachi
Summary: Well, it's an AmarantLani and DaggerZidane fic. Things happen. Pretty much what would happen if Amarant enrolled as a Knight of Pluto...but seriously.
1. The Right Decision

I do no own Final Fantasy IX. Sqaure does, and if you feel like copying, talk to them. =0)  
  
  
Well, since my first, touching fanfic was left ignored (^_^) I decided to write a better, um, more touching one. I even added a little poem at the beginning! *grin* Well, time to start thinking....*sigh*  
  
Remember, this fic isn't PG-13 just for it's language....Though, I'm sure that most of you are mature and old enough to survive, right? I mean, there's slight hints. Nothing more. No yaoi, no lemon. (I'll wait until I'm older, thanks)  
  
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Even those destined to keep their words cold,  
For those who's mind hides the thoughts never told,  
And those that hide secrets that never grow old,  
There's no room in passion's wake.  
  
If time still hung hither, and never flew past,  
Come chaos, come storm, for those who'll not last,  
And bid them to move on, and never surpass,  
The reward that the victor should take.  
  
Killing him slowly with love's stolen words,  
That bore him a journey, that he did not earn.  
Watch his life flee on the wings of the birds,  
Though never so senseless he'll die.  
  
Throw away sorrows, mistaken for hate,  
Listen to reasons that love can create,  
And choose your fate better, before it's too late,  
Or face the true horror, and cry.  
  
  
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****The painful years have taken their time to pass, and now it reaches the same day Zidane returned, however 10 years into the future. In that time, Zidane has married Dagger, as it has been known to happen or sooner or later. King now, Zidane has no trouble at all clearing Amarant's name from Treno, or any other government attempting to hunt the unlucky bandit down. Eiko has become Regent of Lindblum after her father retired. Freya married Frately, and they now live quite happily (with three kits!) under the rule of King Puck. With three friends ruling all three kingdoms, there is no longer war. Airships have been condemned for travelling and transporting cargo only, for years to come. Quina still has his/her/it's job at the castle, and is now a master at gourmand (just like Quale!). Vivi, as it turned out, was an older version of a black mage (as that tree-monster snake thing mentioned) and does live the healty life of any human. He is now, of course, a nineteen-year-old black mage, with powers to amount to anything. He lives with Eiko (they seem to enjoy the company of each other) but their love that rumors itself, has not yet blossomed. ****  
  
****And Amarant. Yes, Amarant. With his name cleared, he has stopped the only thing he did since he'd become wanted, which was steal, and kill. Of course, he never in his life admitted it, and still hasn't, but somehow he managed to fall in love.....with the one and only Lani. "Legend" has it, that the Flaming Amarant's flame was "snuffed". Sadly, he hasn't changed. They never thought about marrying.....the mere discussion of it was too unstable to even mention. Lani feared bringing it up, for she did not want to end what they had started. And for seven years, they still travelled together. Finally, one year before the present time, the new King of Alexandria surprised the aging monk with a proposal to live inside the Alexandrian castle. Amarant refused, naturally, but a long, agonizing quarrel with thirty-year-old Lani, brought him to agree several days later. Amarant now lives to not travel -- but protect something larger than the auction house he'd employed himself to years, and years ago........Alexandria.****  
  
****Now there was only the unthought about to deal with....****  
  
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The figure emerging between gnarled trunks and sparse bushes remained unseen, for the only the shadows, and shade of the forest canopy provided proper protection from the summer's wrath. A single person -- though one glance one would would never tell the horrors that this man had seen -- walked with a stone in his heart, towards the flat plain he knew as a silent temple. Only words he could not comprehend surfaced in his mind. The grave would not lie forgotten today.  
  
A king, yet an alien to this world, his youthful eyes fall upon the weed-bitten mound, headed with a statue too overgrown with mold to easily recognize as a dragon. It's wings arched, curving protectively atop of the grave, and it's jaw open to reveal detailed, menacing inscissors. Zidane Tribal, or Zidane Arc Tribal the I as his royal name was pronounced, stood speechlessly at the statue's head. His eyes smiled sadly as he lifted his hand to brush away the dead vegetation from the tombstone's inscription. He read the words for what seemed to be a thousandth time.  
  
"Kuja"  
"A foe and a friend, bestowing a favour only he could manage upon his brother before the end. Once an enemy, now a kin found on a tearful day of remorse, in the second year of Queen Garnet Til Alexandros the XVII's rule."  
"Lived in wickedness, died with valour."  
  
Slowly, the genome of a world called Terra, let his hand slip from the cool surface of the stone dragon's side. The truth of the inscription only renewed the regret he felt so strongly on the matter of his 'brothers' death. The body of the once-narcist had been found washed up on the northern shore of the Mist Continent. Whether it had been luck, or a possible flicker of Kuja's own power that had brought Zidane's saviour somewhere safe, he now rest in pecae in this field. Away from accusing people, and away from any place it could be destroyed.  
  
"Never had the chance to thank you..." muttered the new king, taking an absent step backwards. "But thanks...Thanks for the change of heart, and thanks for saving little Kujan from never existing."  
  
Kujan til Alexandros the I was the six-year-old crown prince of Alexandrian throne, but he was also the only son of Zidane Arc Tribal.  
  
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"You seem to enjoy making me look like a fool."  
  
"If I enjoyed it so much, would I have taken you away so quickly?" retorted the fiery red-head. Lani brushed her recently-grown out hair behind her shoulders and surpressed a laugh. "Don't take it so personally, Amarant. It's late, and you've had a hard day.....unless you've been slacking."  
  
Amarant Coral lifted his head to stare at her, silently asking himself the same question he'd been pondering for eight years, 'How in the hell did I fall in love with her....?'  
  
"But since I feel like being nice today, I'll swear that I'll never embarrass you in front of your friends ever again..." said Lani, following her words up with a sarcastic grin. Then, after yawning and stretching until her very spine cracked, the bounty huntress turned and flopped onto the king-sized bed. She sighed with relief, and rolled onto her side while curling up with her hands beneath her head to act as a pillow.  
  
Amarant still stood against the doorframe with his arms crossed. He smirked at her -- a mask to cover the real fact that he felt grateful, "......Since when does the great bounty huntress Lani act nice? Besides, they weren't my friends."  
  
Lani smiled, her eyes shut tight, "Then what are you worried about?" she said, and yawned again. "Do what you will....But I'm going to sleep, whether you feel like it or not."  
  
"I still have a discussion with Zidane that needs to be taken care of," growled Amarant. He stood up and paused on his way out of the room, "And I was asked to take night watch. I won't be back until three."  
  
Damn, Lani thought. She racked her brains for some excuse -- any excuse to make him stay at least for an hour or so. Lately, she'd seen too little of Amarant, and honestly (however she denied it) she wanted him to talk with her. Perhaps....stay the night.  
  
"That's too bad," she said to his retreating back, and stretched herself onto her stomach. She stared peacefully at the star-lit sky through her bedroom window, "It's supposed to be reaaaally cold tonight, and I've only got big, empty, lonely bed to keep me company...."  
  
She heard him snort, "You'll have to say more than that to lure me into bed, Lani."  
  
"Damn," she mumbled to herself, when Amarant's form disappeared from sight. "Next time...."  
  
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"Zidane, please....." Dagger pleaded softly with her husband, following him as he mounted the stairs. She tried to grab his arm, but missed, "We can't leave tomorrow....What about Kujan? Quina's too busy preparing the Winter Festival's banquet. And Beatrix has her hands full with Geryan. I, for one, can't leave until Eiko arrives...."  
  
"I'll wait until you're ready, of course," was his only reply.   
  
They reached the top of the stairs, and Dagger stopped, with her arms crossed, to watch Zidane proceed. But before the king could reach for the handle of the door leading to the Hall, it swung open and the clatter of metal scraping meteal reached their ears. Startled, Zidane leapt to the side and stared as none other than Steiner bustled past him, neglecting the fact he was there. The knight, however, looked up in time to see the queen, and managing to skid to a halt before bowling her over. He bent over, gasping to recover his breath, "Your Majesty...terribly sorry...have to find...that accursed bandit...no time for explainations...I must excuse myself..."  
  
The queen's eyes followed him, as Steiner charged down the stairs. When the echoing racket of his armour had finally dispersed, she turned back to Zidane. The king drew a sharp breath, and shook his head, before grasping the door's handle. Alas, for the second time, it swung open, however slower this time. A seven-foot, angry-looking man with dulling red hair appeared, and swiftly brushed past the king without so much as a greeting.   
  
"Good evening, Amarant," said Dagger, politely. The former monk stopped and looked at her, before turning his attention to the new king. Then, it seemed, he realized that Zidane was actually there. He didn't answer the queen's question, but folded his arms rather uncompliently.  
  
"So I'm here. What do you want?" he growled. "It isn't like I want to let Lani sleep alone tonight."  
  
Zidane grinned, a great piece of his former self returning to his youthful features, "Of course not. I'd feel the same way about Dagger. But this is important, and fortunately for you, quite brief."  
  
Amarant blinked, his face unreadable. Then, detecting something almost expectant in Zidane's tone, he grunted and faced the railing. He didn't look happy, but then again, the last time he'd ever shown any kind of feeling, save anger, had been nearly a decade ago, "Make it quick, your highness," he mocked.  
  
"You're not gonna like it," Zidane grinned impishly. . "I need to ask you a favor."  
  
Amarant denied his surprise towards the fact that the king of Alexandria could be asking anything of him, let alone a favor. He snorted - the closest he could come to informing Zidane that he was, in fact, listening without actually saying anything.  
  
"So, I need you to do something I KNOW you'll not like," Zidane continued, and faltered for only a moment's pause. "I need to to….watch Kujan for me."  
  
Dagger's reaction was more vivid than Amarant's, "What? Zidane, that wasn't our agreement!"  
  
"I'm not looking after your brat," said Amarant, turning his head to glance at the king. It was nonsense, all of it. Of all things to delay him from his shift, it had to be a babysitting offer? On top of that, he'd turned down one of the extremely few chances to spend any time with Lani, which he even admitted, was something he's rather be doing.  
  
"Hey, if you won't do it willingly…" said Zidane, almost apologetically. " I'll be forced to force you. Dagger, he's the only one available, and I won't trust anyone else to do it."  
  
"You'll trust him to watch our son, but not Eiko?" the queen demanded crossly.   
  
The king shrugged, "If you want Eiko hanging around our kid, you know, giving him those little bad habits she had as a kid….By all mean. Amarant, I guess you're off the--"  
  
"Wait…." Dagger sighed, and covered his face with her hands. Her tone clearly stated something she did not - She was annoyed, but she knew she was defeated. "With all due respect to them both, I don't think I want either of them watching Kujan.'  
  
"I'm taking no offense," said Amarant simply. Once again, his eyes took no heed of either royal member, "If you give the kid to me, I'll have Lani look after him."  
  
'Which will further delay any time I have left to spend with her,' he thought inwardly, grimacing his discomfort.  
  
Zidane chortled, as if he could read the former monk's thoughts, "And ruin your special plans? C'mon Amarant, how often do you actually want to spend time with Lani? She must be practically chewing herself up with boredom, and self-loathing. Then again….if you're sure…."  
  
"Zidane…" Dagger shook her head and lifted her hands in reverse, "You always do this! You want one thing, and then change your mind. And then, you confuse other people about what they want! Look, I'll just stay behind like I always do, ok? I'm his mother - It's my right to-"  
  
"No, because that will ruin our plans," insisted the genome. "Well, there's always Ruby and Blank. They don't have any children….well, at least not at the present time."  
  
Amarant was quickly losing interest in this conversation, "A pregnant woman, and a man too busy stealing other's possessions….that's the best you can do? Why don't you just have some servant look after him? Dump him in a nursery. Take him with you, even."  
  
"Dagger doesn't trust the servants, he's too old for a nursery, and he's too young to be traveling on an airship. Some kind of undeveloped fears thing…..Fine, Dagger, Eiko can watch him. She'll be too busy to teach him any kind of mischief, anyway."  
  
"Mischief…" Amarant snorted. "An understatement. If you've decided, I'd like to go do my job now."  
Zidane crossed his arms, thoughtfully. He completely ignored Dagger's warning glance, "You have night shift, huh? Who ordered that?"  
  
Amarant shot him a hostile glare, "No one. But the post was empty, so I figured I'd fill it."  
  
The king nodded, though inside he was refraining from bursting into fits of laughter, "Still won't let anyone order you around, huh?"  
  
Dagger forced a kind smile, "You're the only knight that won't take orders."  
  
"I don't need 'em," said Amarant, shrugging. "Am I dismissed, your majesties?" He went on, barely retaining the sarcasm from his voice.  
  
"Zidane..." Dagger began, but the king shook his head vigorously to silence her. Amarant began to suspect that the genome was stirring something, if not trouble, inside of that unpredictable head of his.  
  
"You're dismissed," said Zidane, half-grinning.  
  
Amarant turned to leave, rolling his eyes.  
  
"To your quarters."  
  
The knight/bandit stopped, and faced the king again. Dagger sighed, for a third time that night it seemed, and stalked past the frozen Amarant. Zidane watched her storm into the Hall with a blank expression, as if he'd expected something similar to happen, but not quite the reaction he'd received. Amarant felt a chuckle escape his throat, and he gestured plaintivly with one hand, "You really think that was smart?"  
  
Zidane shook his head again, and exhaled his composed puzzlement, "She's like this sometimes. I think she's just worried that the castle won't be protected enough if we lack one guard on the main front. But you, Amarant -- you never have this chance to sleep anywhere, let alone with someone...." He paused, suddenly feeling uncomfortable. "Never mind. Get some sleep tonight. Go see Lani for once, even if I have to sleep on the couch tonight."  
  
Amarant smirked, "You know I'd thank you if I was actually grateful for this chance to be tortured."  
  
"If that's the way you like to put it...." Zidane shrugged, and suddenly yawned with a great ferocity. "Good night."  
  
"Nothing's gonna happen," the former bandit muttered after Zidane had left. After a second or two of self-questioning, he crossed the walkway and re-entered the Hall. The king could think what he wanted, and say whatever he felt like saying. Amarant felt something too alike gratitude, if not quite, then surprising familiar. Or perhaps it was the satisfaction of being able to sleep tonight, if Lani would let him. For a moment, Amarant paused, halway down the corridor that led to place he and Lani both lived. Was it because he'd never thought about it seriously before? Or was it because he hadn't cared? He was obeying Zidane, and returning to his room, not because he'd been told to.....it was because he felt he wanted to.  
  
Suddenly, he shook his head. Things had changed, after all. What was wrong with loving someone? The fact that he did love her didn't make him a sensitive loser, as he seemed to have the impression that Zidane took the part. He could care about someone, not everyone. Loving one certainly, and very gratefully did not mean loving all, after all. Amarant thought about smiling, and decided against it. No, he'd be happy just to see Lani again. She wouldn't have to spend the night alone.  
  
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Lani rest on her back, clutching the comforter to her chin. The pillow beneath her head was too soft. The matress she lay on was too hard. The curtains that hung around her bed made the room appear packed with phantoms, reaching out towards the ground, hanging from the stone supports in the ceiling. Outside, a cold wind picked up, pressing noisily into the glass of her window. Everything was so eerie, and quiet, save for the clattering of the shutters. Lani shivered in her covers. Without Amarant there, she felt helpless. The bed was not only both too hard and too soft, but it was much too large. She swallowed, and turned on her side, pulling her knees into her body.   
  
The door swung open, and Lani bolted upright, clutching the sheets in one hand. Her mind literrally buzzed with panic as the tall figure entered the doorway. And Lani relaxed instantly as she recognized the intruder's silhouette. But before Amarant could move any closer, she realized something almost too embarassing to say aloud, "Amarant....what...wait, don't come closer. I um...."  
  
"Hmmm," he said gruffly, but to her surprise, he did not stop. "I know."  
  
"Huh?" How could he possibly know I sleep....undressed? she wondered to herself. Instinctivly, she wrapped the sheet she'd been clutching, around her body. "No, really....I mean, what time is it? Is it three already?"  
  
Finally, Amarant stopped, at the side of the bed, "No. Midnight. Saw Zidane....He didn't want anything in particular. He relieved me of my duties, too. Something about assigning a new recruit for the job."  
  
"Oh...." her voice cracked. If he was here, that meant.... "Wait....and you didn't wander into this room by accident? You're not suffering from amnesia....You DO know that your bed is in the next room...."  
  
"If I haven't?" was his toneless reply.  
  
"You're kidding," she said, her voice flat with disbelief.  
  
She saw his face, illuminated by the mere moonlight, and nothing else. Amarant shrugged, as if he were actually talking about something completely normal to him, "It's cold," he explained. He cleared his throat. "I remember you mentioning a big, empty bed. It's still up for grabs, isn't it?"  
  
Lani's jaw dropped, "S..sure. Just..." Scrambling to slip her feet over the edge of the bed, the bounty huntress stood on her feet and looked up into his face, "I can get another pillow, if you'd..."  
  
Those were the last words out of her mouth that night. By the time she'd broken their passionate kiss, he had her on the bed, again. So, she remembered thinking. Either he's coming to his senses, or he'd just lost in a tunnel of love. But as she gazed into that face, something in the back of her mind scolded her for even thinking that way. She didn't care. She loved him.  
  
That's all that mattered.  
  
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(Awwwww....Isn't that so sweet? Man, I tell you, for a fourteen-year-old, even writing that simple paragraph is....well, distrubing. Maybe it wouldn't be if it weren't AMARANT we're talking about here.....oh well. So, what do you think? I'm gonna write more, yeah....don't worry about that. We're gonna reach right down into the pit of Amarant's arrogant mind and bring out that best of him. (not that way) Would he make a good husband? Will he ever propose to her? They HAVE been together for eight years, after all. How many people you know stay together for eight years and not even THINK about getting married? *sigh* No, this fic won't be all about Amarant. Don't worry. There'll be a little bit of everyone, I guess. And remember, this is a decade into the future, k? You'd expect eight years of being in love with someone would make you do anything, right? Right OK. Please R&R, peeps! =0) x 1,000,000) 


	2. What More To Grieve?

Oh geez....what a way to put your tear ducts to use! No, I'm not tlaking about the fact I only got two reviews, hehe, I'm talking about this fic. You'll see why. It's so....touching? Sad? Dumb? Short, yes, but I'm only going to write more IF THERE'S PEOPLE TO WRITE FOR! lol  
  
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"What More To Grieve?"  
  
By: Laura M. Ulian  
  
Dedicated to: Dedication is at the footer! (contains spoilers to this fic)   
  
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Lani woke up.  
  
The first thing she noticed, of couse, was that Amarant was gone. The covers had not only been pulled to her chin, but wrapped around her body several times. She smiled to herself. Just like him, of course. Next time, she thought, that I see him, I'll make sure he gets the heck he deserves. Wrapping me up, as if he cares if I'm cold or whatnot....  
  
Surprisingly, she had a headache. On top of that, she couldn't remember much of what had happened between the time he'd entered to the room, until now. She knew what happened, of course, but....She shook her head and turned on her side. The bed seemed warm, and inviting now. The morning's light streamed through he window, illuminating the entire room with a soft glow. Lani smiled and snuggled even deeper into the comforter. She was happy Amarant was gone. At least she didn't have to hear his usual morning sourness, and get into some big argument over the fact that....well, any fact.  
  
The bounty huntress sighed, and brought one hand to her cheek. It was cold. Either that, or her skin was unusually warm. Hmmm. Strange. It wasn't time at all to become sick. Especially since it was mid-summer, and there had been no viruses she'd known of spreading around. Perhaps she'd slept on her hand wrong. Yeah, that was it. She'd merely cut off the circulation for a brief time. She rolled over again, taking a deep breath of the chilly air. Her eyes landed on the bedroom door.  
  
It was then she nearly leapt from the very bed she lay in, for the entire room echoed with a pounding noise. It took her several moments to realize that someone was knocking on the door. "Wait!" she called out, her voice hoarse. "I'm-I'm not proper! Just a minute!"  
  
She shrieked unvoluntarily, for the very moment she began to crawl out of bed, the door burst open. Lani nearly feinted when two Alexandrian guards entered her room. To her slight relief, they were woman, and both squinting their eyes shut, "Ma'am," said one of them, stopping short. "We would ask of you to be dressed and come with us. We have some news."  
  
Lani blinked, "News....couldn't you tell me it first? My clothes are..." she paused, realizing sheepisly that she didn't exactly know where he clothes were.  
  
One guard looked plaintivly at the other, and she shrugged back. "Ma'am, we've been told to take you to see the Queen. You will not like this news, we are afraid."  
  
Lani faltered for a moment, clutching her covers to her chin, "What...what do you mean?"  
  
The guard that had spoken first sighed, and opened her eyes, "We were informed that you, er....know of a man named Amarant. Is this correct?"  
  
"Would you cut the formal crap!" Lani cried suddenly, her heart pounding. "Just tell me already! Please!"  
  
The guard looked ready enough to cry, "Ma'am..." she said softly. "Lani, I am afraid to be the one to tell you....there was an attempted break in to the Queen's chambres at six hundred hours this morning."  
  
The bounty huntress began to tremble. She said nothing.  
  
"Captain Steiner of the Pluto Knights and his comrade, by the name of Amarant Coral were patrolling the corridor this morning, as was ordered by King Zidane himself," the guard went on, trembling herself. "They managed to stop the intruder. Captain Steiner was....injured ....seriously during the brawl that followed."  
  
Lani caught her breath, and sputtered, "Amarant...he's....fine, Amarant's all right? Isn't he?"  
  
It was then she realized that the both guards face's were streaked with tears, "No, ma'am..." said the second guard, gently. "Amarant Coral was injured....fatally. He is dead, Miss Lani. Dead."  
  
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"It is about time!"  
  
Captain Adelbert Steiner stood with his hand clasping the hilt of his sword. His eyes were half-closed in airy contempt, but it was evident that he was irrated by Amarant's delay in showing up at their post. The former monk glared heinously, and ignored the knight's comment, "I was busy."  
  
Steiner, sadly, had no clue where Amarant had actually been. "Nonsense! What could possibly be more important that protecting the queen?"  
  
Amarant resisted his urge to grin, "Sounds like something you'd say. I was busy, that's all."  
  
"Busy in the very hours of the night? Doing what?" Steiner demanded.  
  
"I'd tell you if I liked telling other about my private life," said Amarant, rolling his eyes.  
  
Steiner froze. His very mind froze, as the tall, red-haired recruit's words sunk in, "Oh..." he said, and cleared his throat. "I apologize sincerely. I had no notion--"  
  
"Here's an idea," Amarant growled. "Let's not talk about it."  
  
"Of course," said Steiner, rather embarassingly. "I am sorry. But...." he swallowed, as Amarant steely glare landed on his face. "The patrol, of course....now, we are to guard the corridor. From the end with the open window, cross, and to the top of the stairs....I will stand at the window. You must guard the stairs."  
  
Amarant smirked, "I hate guard duty."  
  
"One should never mock their honorable job," said, Steiner, turning his back on the monk. He approached his own post, and said over his shoulder, "For a mere hour, and Her Highness shall awaken. Her escort arrives at O seven hundred hours. Mind that."  
  
Amarant sneered. He'd never wanted to leave bed in the first place. It was typical. First night he ever spent with the only person he'd ever loved....and it was interrupted by some egosist Pluto Knight, obeying the orders of a big-time, modest Captain. Guard duty. He hated it, and he always would, for ruining the perfect moment....  
  
But the former monk took his post responsiblely. Whatever reasons he had to, he was guarding the monkey-boy's girlfriend. The chances, too, of anyone being stupid enough for a head-on attack, were damned slim. Only a fool would climb through an open window, kill the kingdom's best guards, and then murder the queen in her sleep.  
  
Sadly, it was barely a minute after the two had taken their posts, that the fool arrived.  
  
Amarant was facing the empty corridor, when the sound of Steiner's voice and the clanking of rusted armour reached his ears. The first impression the tall, former bandit had, was that the idiot knight had caught his fingers while trying to close the window, for Steiner was there, yelling like a madman while facing the broken glass.  
  
Amarant blanked. Broken glass?  
  
Abruptly, the sound of yet more shattering glass, in which he'd failed to hear the first time, rang throughout the air, and Steiner, completely with armor and all, went flying backwards. A very black, and very shadowy man leap through the window, wielding a short sword in one hand, and dagger in the other. Amarant was already halfway down the corridor, and brandishing his own Rune Claws, when the stranger lunged. For a brief instant, Amarant caught the sight of a large arrow embedded in Steiner's chest plate, and quite possibly his own chest.  
  
And then he'd clashed with the cloaked man.  
  
It was all too quick, and no fancy words could be used to describe the man's speed. Amarant knocked both dagger and sword away easily, but misjudged his foe's ability to recover, as he thrust an attack of his own. The minute he felt his Rune Claw penetrate the flesh and bone of the stranger's torso, he became aware that although the dagger had been thrown clear of the brawl, the dying man had not released his short sword. The realization was too late, even as Amarant threw himself back.  
  
The blade of the sword, it seemed, descended slowly. But Amarant felt it's cold steel bite into his chest. 'How ironic,' was the very thought that cross his mind. I've been run through. On guard duty.  
  
The black-laddened intruder was already dead, unaware that his death-reflexes had sent his weapon protruding from his killer's back. Amarant felt his claws slip away, and an eternity passed before he himself hit the floor. No, it had pierced both lungs. The blade had cut them both, and he could feel his breath draining away, and with it, his very life.  
  
Of course, the fight had attracted other guards. The rushed now, and several of them knelt hastily beside the dying Amarant, already trying to bandage his fatal wound. Amarant pitied the very fact of how foolish they were, when they already knew he was doomed. He could hear several others running over to their captain. But Steiner was on his feet, trying to make his way towards his stricken partner, one bloody hand clasped to the arrow that had wounded himself. Steiner dropped to his knees, and Amarant saw with grim regreat, that his eyes were horrified. The knight was speechless. For once.  
  
"Sir....Sir Amarant..." the captain sputtered, shaking his head.   
  
Amarant smirked, and watched through fading eyes, "Cut the...." he said, "Cut the formal crap, Steiner....That's the last thing I need to hear....for the last thing I hear."  
  
"You will not die, Amarant!" said Steiner, rather insistantly. However, he sounded tradgically doubtful.  
  
"Damn hypocrite..." growled Amarant. "I can't believe....you're that last....person I ever saw...."  
  
"Don't speak!" ordered another guard, somewhere above Amarant's head. Amarant didn't care. He already felt it looming overhead. Death. Yes, it was there, no mistaking it....  
  
"Steiner...listen to me, dammit...." he said, demandingly. His entire body felt numb...  
  
The captain leaned over further, and saw for once the eyes....eyes that had lost their light, the very second his last word was uttered. The very instant it left his mouth, he was not there. There was no more Flaming Amarant. The word rang in the knight's head like a tolling bell, announcing the arrogant man's death...  
  
"Lani..."  
  
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(*blubbers* Crying....*sniffs* too....*bawls* much! I c-can't...I can't write a proper footer! WAAAAHHH!....)  
  
It....*sniff* was dedicated to all those who have lost a loved one! *remembers her grandpas*   
  
(Yeah....yeah....it's safd to those who love Amarant. Sad to those who like Steiner and Lani too.....Aw, hell, it's just plain sad! I know it's not what you expected, peeps, but you'll see where it's going....don't worry! *weak smile*) 


End file.
